Hatton Garden Raid Scene 'Chaotic'

Police investigating the raid on Hatton Garden Safety Deposit in London have described the scene as "chaotic".

It is now known that thieves used a communal lift shaft to gain entry to the basement of the building in London's jewellery district, which housed the safety deposit boxes.

Thieves then used a drill to bore holes into the wall of the vault, which is understood to be two metre thick and made of reinforced concrete.

Once inside the raiders forced open up to 70 safety deposit boxes. The total value of what was stolen is not yet known.

Flying Squad Detective Chief Inspector Paul Johnson said: "Initially police were called at 08:10hrs on Tuesday 7 April to Hatton Garden Safety Deposit Ltd following reports of a burglary which took place over the Easter bank holiday.

"The building where the theft took place is made up of a number of businesses, with a communal entrance. The safety deposit business is in the basement.

"There is no sign of forced entry to the outside of the building. The thieves have disabled the communal lift on the second floor and then used the lift shaft to climb down into the basement.

"They forced open shutter doors into the basement where HGSD is then made their way to the vault, where they used a Hilti DD350 drill to bore holes into the vault wall. The wall is two metres thick and made of re-enforced concrete.

"Once inside they forced open up to 70 safety deposit boxes.

"The scene is chaotic. The vault is covered in dust and debris and the floor is strewn with discarded safety deposit boxes and numerous power tools, including an angle grinder, concrete drills and crowbars.

"We are in the process of identifying the owners of the safety deposit boxes and as we do we are contacting them to take statements and find out what has been stolen. This is a slow and ongoing process.

"We are still forensically examining the scene for evidence. This is a painstaking process but is essential to ensure we can gather as much evidence and opportunities to identify the thieves.

"Officers are gathering and examining CCTV to identify any possible leads.

"I realise there have been a number of reports in the media around the alarm being activated on the Friday and the police response. This will of course form part of the investigation.

"I urge anyone who has any information about this theft, or saw anything suspicious in the area around Hatton Garden Safety Deposit Ltd over the Easter bank holiday to contact the Flying Squad on 020 8785 8655.

"Or if you don’t want to leave your name you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."

(MH/CD)